Social media killing work productivity; many millennials would quit their jobs if not allowed to waste time on the clock

(NaturalNews) Everywhere you look these days, people’s heads are buried in their computers, tablets, and smartphones nearly around the clock, including at work. And a new investigation has found that the majority of millennials, or people between the ages of 18 and 34, are insistent upon having these electronic devices in their presence at all times, willing even to quit their jobs if their bosses were to tell them to stop checking Facebook and Instagram during work hours.

CBS Philly’s “On Your Side” recently reported on a survey conducted by MobilIron that found that most millennials, some 60 percent, say they would simply stop working if their employers suddenly started cracking down on social media use while on the job. This phenomenon, writes On Your Side’s Jim Donovan, reflects the fact that this younger generation grew up with such technology, and doesn’t know what it’s like to function without it.

He interviewed one young man by the name of Jonathan Perez, 25, who says he always keeps his smartphone handy, even at work. His work life spills over into his personal life, and vice versa, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. And like many others within his age group, he values having his smartphone with him at all times more than keeping a job to pay the bills.

Commenting on this societal shift in priorities, MobilIron’s Vice President of Strategy, Ojas Rege, told the media that employers need to take this into account with new hires who are increasingly chained to their electronic devices. If they want to maintain the best of the best in terms of employee quality, he says, they’re going to have to figure out how to adapt.

“Any employer that is looking to recruit this next generation of work force is absolutely going to have to understand these trends and respond to them,” Rege says. “Otherwise they are going to lose the best employees of the future.”